The Embrace (Fulfilment) by Gustav Klimt (1905) Postcard

The Embrace (also known as Fulfilment) is a painting by Gustav Kimt from 1905. It reworks the theme from the last section of the Beethoven Frieze, The Choir of the Angels of Paradise, and predates The Kiss. The three couples are very similar, with the man's back turned towards the viewer, shielding his lover's body while exposing her rapt face. In all three versions the man's head is bent over so that it is on a level with hers; in The Kiss this is achieved by having the woman kneel, while in the other paintings Klimt simply makes the man taller. All three works place the couple against a broadly gold background, whether flat, patterned or speckled, which has the effect of setting them from ordinary, earthly love.